Intention to use light-rail transit in Houston, Texas, United States: Findings from the travel-related activity in neighborhoods study

Abstract

Using data from the Houston Travel-Related Activity in Neighborhoods (TRAIN) study, this study examined how various factors affect whether individuals intend to use newly opened light-rail transit (LRT) lines in Houston. The Houston TRAIN study is a natural experiment on the effect of new LRT lines on both transit use and physical activity. A mixed binary logit model was developed based on a dichotomous dependent variable and rich set of variables, including sociodemographic factors, health status, travel behavior and technology, and attitudes and perceptions. The mixed model also allowed accounting for the unobserved heterogeneity across individuals in their sensitivity to observed variables. The results indicated the important role of various factors influencing the decision on intent to use the new LRT lines. In general, demographics mattered but to a lower extent than psychological or personality-related variables. For example, attitudes and perceptions toward the public transit system and consciousness of physical activities derived by using public transit were important factors. Personal health constraints negatively influenced intention to use, while experience with the public transport system was among the positive indicators. The findings show the potential of future interventions in this community to promote use of the new system, such as educational campaigns that improve perceptions of public transit use and clarify the benefits of being active. While providing growing evidence that cognitive variables are important in measuring intention to use public transit, the results emphasize the positive role of efforts integrating transportation and health to develop effective and sustainable solutions.

Keywords:

• Intention to use public transit
• light-rail transit
• public health
• Houston TRAIN study

Acknowledgments

Research reported in this publication was partially supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01DK101593. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The authors would also like to acknowledge Dawn Herring for her editorial review, and four anonymous reviewers for their insightful feedback.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.